2000 Buick 3.8. stop for gas, red light, etc. engine quits. 1st repair shop said fuel pump bad. Replace filter pressure okay. car starts later, quits multiple times. 2nd repair shop, car quits while there. Mechanic comes out with tester and says “no spark”, ignition module bad, also spark plug harness bad. Replace just wires, and car runs for 9 months, no trouble. Now car quits while driving, no sputtering, just quits! Wait awhile, car starts, but 30 miles later, quits. Seems that hot weather has something to do with it, although it quit on a cold rainy fall day and had a hard time starting again. It did start and ran for 300 miles before acting up. $1000.00 fuel pump or $5-600.00 ignition module? Car is worth $3000, but everything else is great. Any ideas or advice would be appreciated. Ron
Sell it.
You need to verify what is really causing the trouble. It sounds to me there is a problem with the ignition system causing the trouble. You can verify that by having a can of starter fluid with you for the next time this happens. When the engine fails spray a small amount of fluid into the air intake of the engine and see if it it will run. If it still doesn’t run then the ignition system is most likely the trouble area. If that is the case then the first thing that needs to be checked is verifying that 12 volt power is getting to the ignition system. If that is ok then you need to check things associated with the ignition system.
If the trouble appears to be with the fuel delivery system my first suspect would be the fuel pump relay.
If you can do some of these checks yourself you would be wise to invest in a factory service manual for the car. It will really help you find things and help you do testing on them. Ebay is a good source to purchase manuals from, at reduced costs.
Cougar gives some good tips and I’ll add one to the list. If you have an ignition coil then it may be the culprit. They work great until the underhood compartment builds up heat then they are very intermittent.
thanks cougar. I am 76 and hard to work alone. but will try starting fluid trick first.